Imagine gentle music with the ability to free our minds from the harmful emotions that prevent us from living a life of joy and health.

Through its action on the human mind, the central nervous system, and the entire organism, more and more doctors are observing that music can be an effective complement to most treatments. As a musician interested in the therapeutic effects of his art, Patrick Bernard shows how music is considered a natural means of restoring disturbed balance. He also highlights the extraordinary energy of sacred chants as revealed by all the great traditional spiritual currents known on the planet.

“The Secret Influence of Sounds and Music invites the reader to discover the magical universe of sound vibrations. Life is vibration, dance, and music. Patrick Bernard turns it into a symphony.”
— Don Campbell, author of the bestseller The Mozart Effect

“With great coherence, Patrick Bernard manages to find the link between scientific research, the use of mystical languages, and the attractive power of sound and speech. This book offers important solutions to the crucial need for the elevation of human consciousness.”
— Thomas Ashley-Farrand, author of Healing Mantra

Table of Contents

• The effect of sound on health

• The attractive power of speech

• Mantra, chakra, and sound vibrations

• Sound massage through the Holy Names

• Healing of the soul through prayer

Preface …………………………….. p. 9
Chapter 1: The Effect of Sound Vibrations …………………………….. p. 15
Chapter 2: The Powers of Speech …………………………….. p. 95
Chapter 3: The Therapeutic Energy of Mantras …………………………….. p. 125
Chapter 4: The Power of the Holy Names …………………………….. p. 185
Chapter 5: Letting Go through Sacred Dance …………………………….. p. 239

New revised and corrected edition previously known under the following titles:

• The Secrets of the Music of the Soul (Louise Courteau)

• Mantra Voyage (Edition DuRoseau)

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to the great spiritual guides who illuminated my path: Jesus, Omraam Aïvanov, Srila Prabhupada, and Sridhar Maharaj.

I warmly thank André Harvey, author, writer, and musician, for his invaluable and unconditional help in publishing this book.

I owe much to composer and producer Robert Lafond and his AUM Studio for the orchestration and sound design of the album Music Therapy included in this work. Without his immense musical culture, this album would not be what it is.

Interior layout: Productions André Harvey
Cover: Caron & Gosselin

All rights reserved Productions Devi Communication Inc.
© Copyright Ottawa 2009

Format: CD-Book (including a CD of therapeutic music)

Excerpt from the Book

The Manuscript of Su Ma T’sien

This confidence in the transformative power of sounds was also very widespread in China, where musical science was part of the education of the nobility. In the very ancient text of the Historical Records of Su Ma T’sien, a work dating from a century before Christ, we discover that correct musical notes have a beneficial effect on human conduct.

“Sounds and music stir and animate the arteries and veins. They circulate through the vital breaths and guide the heart toward harmony and righteousness. The note Kong acts on the spleen and leads man toward perfect holiness. The note Kio acts on the liver and leads man toward the harmony of perfect goodness. The note Tche acts on the heart and leads man toward the harmony of perfect rites. The note Yue acts on the kidneys and leads man toward the harmony of perfect wisdom.”

From reading this manuscript, it is clear that in ancient China, healing physical disorders through sound vibration was common practice. Furthermore, the manuscript of Su Ma T’sien, cited by Dane Rudhyar in his beautiful work The Magic of Tone and the Art of Music, teaches us that the Chinese rightly believed that every musical note is born from the heart.

Emotion, says the ancient manuscript, when stimulated within, manifests outwardly in the form of sound. When sounds become beautiful, they are called musical notes.

Thus (and this is where the message of the text takes on its full meaning), the notes of a troubled era are hateful and irritated, and the government is contrary to reason. The notes of a country falling into ruin are sad and anxious, and the people suffer from it. Sounds and musical notes correspond with the nature of the government.

Analyze the music of a people, a nation, or a race, and you will have a clear picture of the motivations, desires, and priorities of the masses who make up that people.

Thus we can say without being mistaken:

“Tell me what you listen to, and I will tell you who you are.”